When is the next Senedd election and what will be different this time?
With the 2024 UK General Election over, here’s everything you need to know about the next Senedd election in Wales:
What’s the difference between a Senedd election and a General Election?
In a General Election, you’re voting for an MP (member of parliament) to represent your local area (constituency) in the House of Commons in Westminster for up to five years.
The party that wins the most seats will form the next UK Government and its leader will become the prime minister. The UK Government is responsible for matters such as policing, the justice system and foreign policy.
In a Senedd election, similar to a General Election, you vote for an MS (member of the Senedd) to represent your area, and the party with the most seats will form the next Welsh Government and normally that party’s leader will become the first minister of Wales.
The Welsh Government is responsible for devolved issues like health, education, the environment, agriculture and housing.
When is the next Senedd election?
The last Senedd election was held on May 6, 2021. They normally take place once every five years on the first Thursday in May so we can expect the next Senedd election to take place on May 7, 2026.
Will the boundaries be the same as the General Election?
Many Westminster seats radically changed for the 2024 General Election, with the number of MPs in Wales cut from 40 to 32. All but one constituency boundary in Wales was redrawn, except for Ynys Mon.
In the next Senedd election, MSs will be elected from 16 new constituencies made by pairing the 32 Westminster seats. There will be a boundary review after the 2026 election.
How will the new voting system work?
The voting system will also change for the next Senedd election. This time, voters will be able to back a political party, rather than a candidate.
For previous Senedd elections, the additional member system has been used to elect the MSs. In the past, the public have had two votes. The first vote has been used to elect 40 of the Senedd members by using a Westminster-style first-past-the-post electoral system. The second vote has been to elect the other 20 regional members by choosing a political party.
From 2026, you will only have one vote and the electoral system will be changed to use the D’hondt formula. It’s a system which is based on the principle of proportional representation.
There will be 96 Senedd members in total, with each of the 16 constituencies represented by six members.
Unless voting for an independent candidate, people will choose a political party to vote for, with the elected representatives coming from lists decided by parties. The names of all candidates will appear on the ballot paper.
What are the plans for gender quotas?
In 2003, Wales became the first country in the world to elect women in 50% of its parliament’s seats. Over the last two decades, that proportion has fallen.
The Senedd now wants to change that by placing the responsibility on the political parties to put forward more than one candidate in the next election to ensure:
Women make up at least half of their election candidates for each constituency
A woman is placed at the top of at least half of their constituency candidate list
Each candidate on a list who is not a woman is followed by a woman.
These plans were meant to be in place by 2026. But concerns have been raised that legal challenges to the law could potentially disrupt the result. As a result, the Welsh Government is considering delaying the plans until 2030.
What else will be different?
From 2026, every member or candidate must be registered to vote in Wales. As it stands, they are not required to be residents in Wales.
Senedd elections will take place every four years from 2026.